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Sir Keir Starmer marks 80th anniversary of VE Day by hailing World War Two veterans for their ‘greatest victory'

Sir Keir Starmer marks 80th anniversary of VE Day by hailing World War Two veterans for their ‘greatest victory'

Scottish Sun04-05-2025
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SIR Keir Starmer has marked the 80th anniversary of VE Day by hailing World War Two veterans for their 'greatest victory'.
The PM has penned an open letter to the last of the generation on the day millions take to the nation's streets to mark Victory in Europe Day.
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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has marked the 80th anniversary of VE Day by hailing World War Two veterans
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D-Day veteran Alan Kennett, 100, of Lichfield, Staffs, will be carrying the Torch for Peace
The Labour leader writes: 'This week we celebrate the greatest victory our Armed Forces ever secured . . . a victory for good against the assembled forces of hatred, tyranny and evil.
'VE Day is a chance to acknowledge, again, that our debt to those who achieved it can never fully be repaid.'
Thousands of street parties are taking place to honour the war generation.
Up to 20,000 are expected at the Royal British Legion-arranged VE Fest 80 in Blackburn.
In London's Docklands — a target for sustained bombing in the Blitz — the Bengali community is organising an event.
Thirty war veterans, aged from 98 to 104, will take tea with King Charles and Queen Camilla at Buckingham Palace.
Among them will be Joyce Wilding, 100, who was in a covert resistance force, and Ruth Bourne, 98, who helped decrypt Nazi messages at Bletchley Park.
Both were among the VE Day crowds in London in 1945.
Before the party, 1,300 service personnel, including Ukrainian fighters and troops from 11 Nato nations, will parade from Parliament Square to the Palace.
D-Day veteran Alan Kennett, 100, of Lichfield, Staffs, will be carrying the Torch for Peace.
Brits to get Bank Holiday bonanza this year to celebrate VE Day with star-studded concert, flypast & 4 days of events
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